A national quarantine? National Security Council calls rumors ‘fake’

There’s a rumor floating around that the United States is prepping for a national quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak. But the National Security Council just shot down that idea.

What happened:

• Rumors floated about over the weekend that the U.S. is preparing to quarantine the entire country as a mandatory measure rather than a suggestion.
• This rumors is fake, the NSC tweeted Sunday night.
• NSC said: “Text message rumors of a national #quarantine are FAKE. There is no national lockdown. CDC has and will continue to post the latest guidance on #COVID19. #coronavirus”
• The White House retweeted the NSC.

How did the rumor start?

• The National Security Council’s tweet came in response to a cyber-attack on the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, according to Bloomberg. The HHS’ computer system suffered an attack, which tried to slow the systems down. Nothing major happened.
• The NSC tweet “was related to the hacking and the release of disinformation, according to the people. The government realized Sunday that there had been a cyber intrusion and false information was circulating,” Bloomberg reports.

Cities and states are working to quarantine people, though

• Plenty of cities and states are working to quarantine people.
• New York City has closed public schools and required bars and restaurants to be take-out service only, the New York Post reports.
• California, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington closed bars and restaurants, too, according to USA Today.